A Rose
by nellabean
Summary: However loony Undertaker might appear, he does not come without wisdom. While Lizzy refuses to let her guard down and reveal how capable she can be, Undertaker tells her exactly why she should... (You should probably be familiar with the manga to understand this story.)


**This is just a short one-shot I wrote up to pass the time a while ago. If you're reading this and you're thinking, "I swear I've seen this somewhere before," it's probably because you indeed have. This was originally posted under another account, and I wanted to repost using my main account. Enjoy!**

* * *

All she had wanted was to be of some help. After all, the maids already looked so flustered as they rushed about with dinner preparations on their minds. So when Mey-Rin had greeted her at the door with a toppling stack of plates in her arms, Elizabeth made it her duty to lend a hand.

"Whatever is the matter?" Elizabeth asked the stuttering maid.

"Nothin's the matter, my Lady. It's just that we're all a bit busy with preparations for tonight's dinner, yes we are. The young master's got a few important guests, and we can't find Finnian anywhere. The young lad's nowhere to be seen! If we don't pull ourselves together, Sebastian'll be furious."

"Oh, I'm sure I had seen him in the yard earlier. Let me go and look for him, okay? You just do your best in here."

"Goodness no! It's gonna get far too dark out there, soon. I can't go lettin' you wonder around. Just go on right ahead to the young master and dinner will be ready soon, yes it will."

And Elizabeth sincerely wished Mey-Rin hadn't said that. She hated having to order maids around, especially Ciel's, even though she was in her right to do so due to her status. But she wanted nothing more than to make good use of herself, and Elizabeth always got what she wanted. _Always_. So she'd put on her best 'angry' face and commanded, "You've no right to tell me what to do, madam. I want to help, so I will."

Mey-Rin sighed, but inside she was relieved. At least finding Finnian was one less thing she'd have to do. "Thank you, Lady Elizabeth. I'm ever so gracious, yes I am." And then she rushed off back to the dining room.

Elizabeth turned and went to step back outside, but when Baldroy -who seemingly appeared out of thin air- grabbed her hand to stop her, she almost jumped out of her skin. It wasn't that she was worried for her safety, as she knew Baldroy was a trustworthy man, and she wasn't appalled by the fact that he had touched her because she rejected such a ludicrous status quo. It was his hair that had startled her. The afro he wore atop his head indicated that he'd been attempting to cook again.

"If you're goin' out there in search of Finny, I gotta warn ya. That garden's bloody maize. It's not good to be goin' alone, take this thing with ya."

_'This thing?'_ she thought to herself._ 'Is this man about to arm me with a gun? Truly, it's possible. He doesn't see much of a problem with using explosives to cook meat, apparently._'

But it wasn't long before a swish of grey hair drew her attention to something that was lurking behind Baldroy. Meekly, a robed figure stepped into her view and flashed an unnervingly mischievous grin.

"Yeah, this guy. Take 'im with ya and get 'im off my back while ya at it, then?" And then Baldroy was gone, off to the battlefield he ran for a kitchen.

Now, this mysterious fellow stood before Elizabeth touching the tips of his fingers together in a display of eagerness. She eyed his overhanging silver hair and grim-reaper-like cloak, but she didn't fear him. She knew of the man well enough to conclude that he wouldn't harm her. Or so she hoped. No, however creepy he may be, he was of pleasant company, if one could bare his dark humour.

He took a step out of the mansion and held his arm out, inviting her to lead the way to the garden. "My Lady, it seems we're going treasure hunting. How fun. Where should we start first?"

**ooo**

Five minutes and zero conversation later, the pair had arrived at a clearing in the garden. Flowerbeds framed the area where a large, marble fountain stood in the centre. Elizabeth had never been to this part of the garden, and she quite admired the view.

"I wonder where the gardener could be," Undertaker chortled as he pranced alongside her. "Oh, I do hope he hasn't died."

He put a finger to his chin and hummed in thought. When a small hand pulled at his robes, he glanced down to meet a pair of bewildered eyes. "Sir," said Elizabeth. "I do wish you wouldn't say such things. I don't mean to be rude, but you're kind of creeping me out.

"Creeping you out?" he repeated. "Thank you! I do try, my young lady. That's quite the compliment." And despite his words, he gave her such a wide smile that she couldn't help but laugh.

When she recovered from her laughing fit, she sighed. "Thank you for accompanying me. I had intended to search the garden on my own, but this place is very big and it's getting rather dark."

Undertaker craned his neck down. "It's my pleasure, really. But I have the feeling that given the event of something ghastly popping up behind you, I think you could defend yourself quite well."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Me? Never. It isn't cute to fight."

"Really? It's not cute to have your throat cut, either."

Elizabeth watched him as he made his way over to the far end of the clearing. His dark robes swished around his feet with each step he took, and it gave him the illusion that he was dancing. Or, perhaps he really was dancing. She thought he seemed like the type of fellow who was accustomed to spontaneous dance breakouts. He sat down on a bench before a bed of roses and placed his hands on his knees, and then he insisted, "Come."

Elizabeth hesitated. It was only when he beckoned her with a long finger that she made her way over to him, caution in her stride.

Undertaker twisted his torso around and plucked a single red rose from behind. Then he held it up between himself and Elizabeth and asked, "Tell me, what do you think of this?"

"It's a rose, of course! It's very pretty. I've yet to see roses bloom as beautifully as the ones in Ciel's garden."

"Oh my, yes. It's very pretty indeed. But my Lady, look at all these thorns!" He twisted the rose in his fingers. "It's bizarre, isn't it? How odd it is that something so lovely should bare something so dangerous."

Elizabeth was silent, and Undertaker queried about her thoughts a second time to which she replied, "I still think it's nice to look at."

"But how? Didn't you say cute and pretty things shouldn't be dangerous?"

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did."

"I didn't."

"You did. Different words, same meaning."

"I-"

He interrupted her. "You said it isn't cute to fight. Fighting is dangerous. So are thorns. This rose has thorns. This rose is dangerous. I win."

And then, once understanding the method in his madness, she pouted. She folded her arms across her chest with a loud huff and twisted her lips to the side. "But what if Ciel doesn't_like_ his roses to have thorns? What if he likes them to be cute and harmless and ladylike?"

"BO-RING!" Undertaker snorted at her attempt to juxtapose herself with a rose. "A rose without thorns? That's hardly a rose at all. What good does sitting around looking pretty all day do anyone? How tiresome, there's no excitement in that. Everything beautiful had a dark side, my young lady. That's what makes things interesting to think about. So, I would assume that the Earl likes his roses to have thorns."

Elizabeth knew very well that it was polite to reply when someone spoke to you, but Undertaker had a certain knack for leaving one utterly speechless. So instead she stared back at him, trying to envision his eyes underneath the hair that covered his face and she nodded. He twirled the rose in his fingers with a closed-lipped smile playing upon his lips as he began to hum. Then, a crimson droplet appeared on Undertaker's finger, causing Elizabeth to let her jaw hang low in shock.

"Oh my," she gasped. "You're bleeding!"

Undertaker gave a nod of agreement. "It seems so. But you know, a little cut from a thorn never killed anybody. Though you'll remember not to treat it so roughly again."

While Elizabeth allowed silence envelope her once more, she came to realize what Undertaker was doing with the rose. He was gently plucking each thorn off of the stem, one by one.

"Give me your head," he requested when he was done.

"My head?" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up to her neck. He ignored her and moved forward, placing the now harmless flower behind her ear.

"Well now isn't that lovely. It suits your eyes, my young lady. Red on green… simply stunning."

Her stare filled with something that looked a lot like admiration. "You know, you're quite easy to talk to for someone your age."

"Are you calling me old?"

"No! Not at all! It's just that I find it-"

Elizabeth never got to explain herself, for Undertaker's laughter cut her off again. "Fear not, I'm only kidding. Why, if you knew how old I really am, you'd have a heart attack and the next time we meet will be at my place of business! Oh, we can't have that. Even though I'd see to it that you had a nice coffin."

That last remark made Elizabeth subconsciously step back. While she fished around her brain for something to say, a familiar voice called from somewhere unseen.

"Lizzy!"

Both Undertaker and Elizabeth turned to the direction of the voice and soon, three forms appeared, walking up the garden path and lit by the soft glow of a lantern. Elizabeth was sure she'd never been more relieved to see Ciel, Sebastian and Finny.

The frustrated expression on Ciel's face, however, indicated that he was less than pleased with the current situation. "Lizzy! I'll have those servant's heads for sending you out here this close to dusk. And with this loon especially!" He waved a hand in Undertaker's direction as he, Sebastian and Finny gradually drew closer.

Sebastian removed his coat and draped it over Elizabeth's shoulders. Then he dropped his voice just enough so that only Elizabeth would hear. "Forgive the young master, Lady Elizabeth. I dare say your absence caused him a great worry."

Next to Sebastian stood Finny who seemed to be taking the task of lantern keeper far too seriously, as he hovered the dim light after Ciel with each movement the Earl made. "Sorry Lady Elizabeth," he muttered sincerely. "I didn't know you was lookin' for me. I was in the basement sortin' out some of the old furniture down there."

"You've no need to apologise. This was kind of fun," she said through upturned lips.

"That it was," interrupted Undertaker for the lord-knows-what time that evening as he stood from the garden bench. Ciel glared at him, only to receive a shrug in return as if to say,_'well, it was.'_

Seemingly fed up with the shenanigans of the people who burdened his life, Ciel said, "Come along, Lizzy. Let's go back before anything else can go wrong today."

She obliged and began to walk with him. Behind her, Sebastian was like a shadow with the way he silently followed, and Finny rushed beside Ciel to light the path back to the mansion. Elizabeth was about to make her own apology for causing so much mayhem, when instead a yelp burst from her lips. Undertaker had popped up on her left and gripped her shoulder.

"Remember our talk, won't you?"

Yet before she could reply, he was gone. Strolling off into the darkness in the opposite direction. The group only realized that they had stopped walking when his upbeat humming had finally drifted off into the night.

"He's a peculiar sort, isn't he?" commented Sebastian to no one in particular.

"Peculiar doesn't cut it. That man is certifiable," Ciel corrected. Then, as they began to walk again, he turned to Elizabeth. "Are you quite alright, Lizzy? He didn't scare you, did he?"

She gave another glance behind her and remembered her conversation with Undertaker before picking up the pace of her stride so that she was now in front of Ciel. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you. I can take care of myself."

Ciel exchanged a short look of confusion with his butler but carried on anyhow. "That's good," he murmured, without allowing his composure to waver although her sudden outburst of independence certainly surprised him indeed.

Elizabeth led the way down the garden path, not giving much thought to the fact that she was straying from the light of Finny's lantern. Absentmindedly, she stroked the petals of the rose behind her ear and enjoyed the velvet texture as she felt a surge of confidence almost overwhelm her. She now knew that being a lady by no means meant that she had to reserve the part of her that could defend herself. And Elizabeth was a lady through and through.


End file.
